Flashing light in a flying toy



July 7, 1970 J. E. sum-:5 3,518,788

FLASHING LIGHT IN A FLYING TOY Filed July 24, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l 44,7 afc'xweu [ca a J/c/eJ INVENTOR.

July 7, 1970 J. E. SIDES FLASHING LIGHT IN A FLYING TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed July 24, 1967 (ii me; [0 0/07 J INVEN United States Patent3,518,788 FLASHING LIGHT IN A FLYING TOY James E. Sides, Dallas, Tex.,assignor to UFO Corporation, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas FiledJuly 24, 1967, Ser. No. 655,560

Int. Cl. A63h 27/12 US. C]. 46-75 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Areflective substance aflixed to portions of a rotating flying toy toreflect the light waves of the sun or other light sources. Thereflective substance may be disposed so as to reflect throughtranslucent materials of which other portions of the toy may be made.These translucent materials may be of various colors so as to give theappearance of flashing lights of various colors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionpertains to improvements in a flying toy or amusement device. Morespecifically it relates to construction of such a toy so as to createthe appearance of flashing lights on the toy.

Background of the invention Recently there have been an increasingnumber of unidentified flying objects sighted by people all over theUnited States. These sightings have caused much speculation as to theirorigin and cause. The popular name for such objects is flying saucers.

The increasing frequency in the number of sightings has led todevelopment of childrens toys made to resemble reported descriptions ofthese flying saucers. One such toy with which the applicant is familiar,actually flies and has a realistic appearance. This toy has an annularshaped body with a duct therethrough in which is mounted a modelairplane engine and propeller. The body rotates at a relatively slowspeed counter to the propeller rotation.

From those who have seen unidentified flying objects, it has beenreported that they appear to have various colored lights thereon.However, as far as the applicant knows no one has attempted to createthis lighting effect on a toy flying saucer.

SUMMARY The present invention discloses a construction for a flying toywhich will give the effect of flashing lights. These lights may be ofone color or a number of colors. The lighting effect is created byaflixing a reflective material to the inner and outer surface of thetoys cylindrical duct. The body is covered with a material such asplastic which may be translucent, so that reflected light waves of thesun appear to be flashing lights attached to the toy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view lookingtoward the top of a flying toy with which the invention may be used;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view looking toward the top of framework for aflying toy such as shown in FIG. 1, exploded to show the upper half andlower half separated; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view partially in section of a flying toyembodying the invention representatively show ing the reflection oflight waves therefrom.

ice

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, oneembodiment of a toy flying saucer is depicted. It consists primarily ofan annular body 1 With sloping upper surface 2 and under surface 3, asubstantially cylindrical duct 4 through body I, and propulsion meanscomprising a propeller 5 and power source 6 mounted in duct 4 on anengine mounting 7. A grilled dome 8 is sometimes provided for safety andflight stabilization. While in flight, body 1 rotates counter topropeller 5 due to the resultant torque of engine 6. Various means suchas fins, not shown, may be used to slow the rotation of body 1 so thatit rotates at relatively low speeds, i.e. rpm. Due to air flow effects,the body may also wobble slightly as it rotates.

A framework construction for such a flying toy is shown in FIG. 2. Anupper half 10 and a lower half 20 are separately formed of plastic orother material in a pressure molding process or by other means wellknown in the art. Upper half 10 has an outer ring 11 and a smaller innerring 12 connected by downwardly and outwardly sloping radial strips 13,leaving windows 14 therebetween. Dome 15 may be integrally formed withupper half 10. The form and construction of the dome form no part ofthis invention, and therefore a detailed description thereof is notnecessary. Lower half 20 has an outer ring 21 and a smaller inner ring22 connected by upwardly and outwardly sloping radial strips 23 leavingwindows 24 therebetween. Duct framework comprising lower ring 25 andupper ring 26, connected by vertical strips 27, leaving windows 28therebetween, may be integrally formed with lower half 20.

The framework of upper and lower halves It] and 20 may be covered withsuitable materials such as clear, colored or opaque plastic to providesmooth sloping surfaces such as 2 and 3 in FIG. 1. The duct framework oflower half 20 may also be covered, as for example with a reflectivematerial, to provide a smooth wall wind tunnel of duct such as 4 inFIG. 1. Upper and lower half It] and 20 may then be attached to eachother by adhesive or other means, lip 19 and lip 29 cooperating to froman interconnecting joint. Thus, the basic body and duct may beassembled.

In one embodiment of the invention it is desirable that the materialcovering upper and lower frameworks I0 and 20 be translucent. If coloredlights are desired the material should also be colored. A number ofdifferent colors may be used. A reflective material may then beinstalled over windows 28. Preferably the reflective material shouldform a smooth surface so that light waves will be reflected efiiciently.Any suitable material may be used. A tensilized film of Mylar, apolyester material made by Du Pont has been found ideally suited forthis application, although other reflective materials, ssuch as metalfoils, may be used. The reflective surface may face outwardly orinwardly of the duct, or in both directions, depending on what effectsare desired. This will be more fully described subsequently. For aninwardly facing reflective surface to be effective the reflectivematerial must be used to form the surface of the duct, or a translucentmaterial can form the surface with reflective material behind it. It isbetter for the reflective material to be on the exterior of the ductsince it will not be as easily damaged.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the principles involved will be explained.Annular body 1 with translucent upper and lower surfaces 2 and 3 areshown. Engine 6 and propeller 5 are mounted in duct 4 on engine mount 7.Grill dome 8 covers the upper end of duct 4. The material covering thewalls of duct 4 is also translucent. The cylindrical wall 9 forming theexterior of duct 4 and the interior of body 1 is covered with a materialwhich is reflective on both sides. While the toy is in flight a lightsource 40, such as the sun, emits light waves 41 and 42 which arereflected by the reflective material on wall 9, emanating as shown at 43and 44 to be seen by ground observers below. Since body 1 is rotating ata low speed, framework strips 23 and 27 (see FIG. 2) regularly interruptlight reflection so that a flashing effect is created. Wobbling of theflying object also creates a flashing effect when viewed from a fixedpoint on the ground. If windows 24 and 28 (see FIG. 2) are covered withdifferent colored materials, flashing colored lights are seen on theground.

It will be appreciated that flashing may be created in the duct only, bymaking the surface 4 inwardly reflective, and using no other reflectivesurfaces. In such an embodiment of the invention, the surfaces 2 and 3may be opaque.

Conversely, an outwardly facing reflective surface 9, with translucentsurfaces 2 and 3, will provide outwardly directed flashes without anyflashes in the duct.

The term translucent as used herein means light transmitting to anextent suflicient for the light used to shine through one translucentcovering to the reflector, and for its reflection to be seen throughanother translucent covering.

It is highly desirable that the reflective surfaces be vertical, ornearly so, when the toy is flying, so that the sun shining downwardly onthe surfaces will be reflected downwardly to viewers on the ground. Inthe embodiment shown in the drawing, the reflective surface is thereforemost advantageously placed on the duct.

However, under favorable conditions a flashing light effect can beobtained if alternate panels of the upper surface 2 or the lower surface3 are made of highly reflective material. When the sun is at arelatively low level, or if extremely wobbly flight is obtained,reflections from these surfaces may be seen from the ground.

From the foregoing description, one can understand the realism createdby the invention. A person observing an actual flying toy with theflashing colored lights of the invention would almost assuredly becaught up in the excitement of such an occasion.

I claim:

1. A flying toy having an annularly shaped body with a cylindrical ducttherethrough, propeller and means for driving said propeller mounted insaid duct wherein the improvement comprises translucent materialcovering a portion of said body outwardly of the duct and a highlyreflective material overlying the exterior of the walls of said duct soas to cause light entering said body through a portion of saidtranslucent material to strike said reflecting material and be reflectedthrough another portion of said translucent material.

2. A flying toy as set forth in claim 1 characterized in that said ductwalls are composed of a translucent material, said reflective materialbeing reflective on both sides so that light entering one end of saidduct passes through its translucent walls and is reflected back throughsaid translucent walls and the other end of said duct.

3. A flying toy as set forth in claim 2 characterized in that saidtranslucent material through which said light is reflected is comprisedof different colored sections, said translucent material and saidreflective material both rotating about the axis of said duct but beingstationary relative to each other.

4. A flying toy having an annular shaped body with a cylindrical ducttherethrough, propeller and means for driving said propeller mounted insaid duct wherein the walls of said duct are of a translucent materialand a highly reflective material is aflixed to the exterior of said ductwalls with a reflective surface facing inwardly of said duct to causelight entering one end of said duct to pass through said translucentwalls and be reflected back through said translucent walls and out theother end of said duct.

5. A flying toy as set forth in claim 4 characterized in that saidreflective material also has a second reflective surface facingoutwardly from said duct, said body having a translucent upper surfaceand a translucent lower surface so that light entering through saidupper body surface is reflected by said second reflective surfacethrough said lower body surface.

6. A flying toy as set forth in claim 4 characterized in that said wallsare divided into different colored areas which are stationary relativeto said reflective surface but rotatable with the body of said flyingtoy.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 16,091 6/1925 Marten 353-822,659,178 11/ 1953 Van Hartesveldt. 2,938,298 5/ 1960 Apostolescu.3,073,950 1/1963 Sliwa et al. 240-10.1 3,113,396 12/1963 Collins.3,204,891 9/1965 Cline 46-74 XR D. 209,763 1/1968 Mueller 4675 XR3,394,906 7/1968 Rogers 46-75 XR OTHER REFERENCES Cable Electric June1962.

ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner J. A. OLIFF, Assistant Examiner

